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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27349201">Us-Tube</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/daffodilkurt/pseuds/daffodilkurt'>daffodilkurt</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Glee</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU, Alternate Universe, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Youtubers!Klaine</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 01:34:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,608</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27349201</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/daffodilkurt/pseuds/daffodilkurt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on the colormayfade tumblr prompt:</p><p>We’re both rival YouTubers with the “anything you can do I can do better” rivalry. Whoever uploads a video first the other one makes a video exactly like it but better. Our subscribers ship us even though we live far away from each other. We have an encounter at a con one day.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>62</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Us-Tube</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>My first fic based on a prompt, I hope you enjoy :)</p><p>*note: I have never been to VidCon and know nothing about it so most of the descriptions are guess work!</p><p>Feel free to check out my tumblr (daffodilkurt)!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“And that’s it for today! Thanks for listening and if you have any song requests you’d like me to try out, feel free to comment them below. Bye everybody!”</p><p>Kurt smiled brightly and waved to the camera with its small, red blinking light before reaching forward and stopping the recording. Generally he wasn’t one to toot his own horn, but the cover he just did? Personally he thought he’d smashed it out of the park. The tone of his voice perfectly complimented the melodic symphony that was Music of the Night and honestly he wouldn’t be suprised if Andrew Lloyd Webber himself left a comment praising his rendition of the classic. Smiling smugly, Kurt took the camera off the tripod and proceeded to plug it into his computer to make a few minor edits before posting it to his personal Youtube page.</p><p>With bated breath, he watched as the views slowly ticked up and the comments began rolling in. Kurt preened as he read the praise bestowed upon him by the 120,000 adoring subscribers of @KurtSings. It hadn’t been too long since he’d first started posting singing videos on the site but he’d already amassed a large following of mainly teenage girls who cleaved earnestly to any new update from his account. Probably not his desired audience, but flattering nonetheless.</p><p>The next 30 minutes were spent constantly refreshing the video as he smiled satisfyingly at any new likes and mumbled under his breath every time the dislike count went up. On about the 20th refresh or so, Kurt’s eyes narrowed on a video which had newly popped up in the recommended sidebar. Looking closer, his eyebrows creased significantly as he saw a familiar face grinning cheekily from the thumbnail, dark hair curling delicately atop his head. Glaring momentarily at the face, he lowered his sight to read the title of the clip and suddenly sat back in aghast. Blaine fucking Anderson had done it again.</p><p>Fuming, Kurt clicked the video and stared incredulously at the screen as the wannabe indie boy pulled out a ukulele and winked at the camera. He could do nothing but watch with a horrified expression on his face as Blaine began to perform an acoustic, yes, ACOUSTIC, cover of Music of the Night. Who even did that? Who took a classical masterpiece and somehow managed to arrange it on a ukulele and, though he hated to admit it, sound incredibly good doing so? Kurt shut his laptop lid indignantly, arms crossing tightly over his chest as he internally screamed at Anderson and his stupid mini guitar.</p><p>This had to be the third, no FOURTH time he’d pulled this shit. Kurt would post a cover that he felt immensely proud of and in the time span of only around 30-40 minutes, Blaine would post a cover of the exact same song on his own channel but somehow completely re-invent it and ultimately upstage his own. Seriously, what was his problem? It was obviously purposeful; it couldn’t have been a coincidence given the close proximity to posting times and them singing what was essentially the same song.</p><p>And he wasn’t the only one who had cottoned on to it. Both his and Blaine’s fans had become aware of the phenomenon and formed opinions on it varying from mortal enemies to starstruck lovers. It was entirely ridiculous, of course. Blaine’s account had only started a few months after his and they were about on par with each other in terms of following. He’d had no reason to dislike the boy at all, until he started becoming a parrot which mimicked the occasional new video he made. Seething, Kurt opened the laptop again and clicked on the username @BlaineDandy.</p><p>He pushed down the metaphorical urge to vomit as he selected the red subscribe button on his page. What he needed to do was fight fire with fire. Blaine was already subscribed to him, that much he knew, and had evidently turned his notifications on in order to clone his latest posts. As of now he hadn’t granted him the same honour but desperate times called for desperate measures.</p><p>And so, Kurt reluctantly ticked the little bell which would notify him of any new posts. Now, there was nothing stopping him from carrying out the same “practical joke” the next time Blaine shared a new cover. Kurt exhaled calmly as he prepared himself to wait out the next few days until a little notice would pop up on his screen announcing the video he had to work with.</p>
<hr/><p>Said little notice came earlier than expected. Kurt was watching a movie on Netflix when suddenly a small notification dropped down, alerting him that “BlaineDandy has posted a new video!”. Panicking slightly, he cautiously clicked the link and watched as Anderson smiled cheerily from the screen, settling a guitar on his lap and clipping on a capo. As the song began, Kurt’s mouth twisted into a smile. He knew exactly what to do with this.</p><p>Wasting no time, he quickly propped up his camera and ran a few vocal warmups before pressing record. Sitting back, he eyed the camera innocently and shifted into a crossed legs position on his bed. “Hey guys, little earlier than scheduled but I wanted to share one of my favourite songs with you. Please enjoy.”</p><p>Without any accompaniment, Kurt proceeded to pull off a beautiful, ballad cover of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” by the Beatles. Oh, Blaine had really stuck his foot in it by singing it the exact same way as the recording. Kurt, well his was new, and emotional and as he sang his eyes welled up with well-trained tears and as his voice wavered on the last note, he smiled shyly at the camera and whispered a soft-spoken “thankyou”.</p><p>A short trim at the start and end of the clip was all the editing he needed to do before the video was being posted to Youtube and it wasn’t long at all before his subscribers began to make the connection with Blaine’s and proceeded to comment deliriously on what this could mean. Kurt smiled gratifyingly as his views slowly creeped up and eventually surpassed Anderson’s. The sweet, sweet taste of victory was oh so delicious and, if only to add insult to injury, he went over to Blaine’s video and commented, “What a coincidence! I covered this song too, kinda”.</p><p>A few minutes after he sent it, Kurt noticed a new comment on his own video from one @BlaineDandy.</p><p><strong>BlaineDandy</strong>: coincidence indeed ;)</p><p>Cocky. The winky face gleaned up at him from the scream and he rolled his eyes. Say what he might, Blaine must’ve known Kurt’s cover was better. He’d bested him at his own game, and Blaine was simply pretending to be non-chalant about it. Kurt convinced himself that the other boy was probably dying inside and smiled at the thought as he lay back in his bed, content with his successful sabotage of Blaine’s cover. Now, he just had to make sure he continued to stay on top and reign supreme in the song-cover Youtube channel rivalry of the century.</p>
<hr/><p>Over the next few weeks a back and forth game of “Who Can Sing This Song Better” began between the two youtubers. Whereas it only used to be the occasional song that Blaine would replicate, the pair soon fell into a pattern where they’d copy the other’s before releasing their own cover that the other would copy and so on.</p><p>In addition to the song mimicry, they both started leaving comments on each other’s posts, each with sharp undertones of competitive spirit. Every time they released a new song it was purposefully made harder for the other to copy. Given their vastly different singing styles, with Kurt being a counter-tenor and Blaine more of a tenor, the song choices very strongly reflected the strengths of the chooser. One week, Blaine went with “Somewhere Only We Know” which Kurt struggled to belt out at the chorus (much to his chagrin). In reply, he managed to pull off the “Queen of the Night” aria which Blaine couldn’t help but lower an entire octave.</p><p>So far they’d managed to stay fairly even with each other. Until one Friday morning where everything changed...</p>
<hr/><p>Shit shit shit shit shit. “Damn you unbearably talented man”, Kurt muttered under his breath as he gazed dejectedly at the screen. After posting a cover of “Teenage Dream” last night, he was almost positive that Anderson would readily respond with his own rendition but unusually, he’d received no notification.</p><p>That was, until he woke up this morning to what apparently had become user BlaineDandy’s most viewed video in the past 12 hours. He’d completely overpowered Kurt’s own accapella version by singing his heart out behind a piano (seriously, what instrument could this man NOT play??) and had fast become an over-night sensation.</p><p>Kurt felt the burning sense of jealousy sting his insides as he looked at his pitiful comparison of 25,677 views. No, no this had to be the worst possible thing to happen. But just when he thought things couldn’t possibly get any worse, he glanced at Blaine’s subscriber count and almost cried when he saw it was fast approaching 5,000 more than his own. Inconceivable!</p><p>Feeling like a complete failure, Kurt slumped down in his bed and curled up tightly around his pillow. God, why did Blaine have to be so good at everything and simultaneously be one of the most good-looking men dominating the Youtube-sphere. If he had any chance at beating the unreachable bar he’d set, he’d have to pull out all stops. Wracking his brain, a slither of an idea crept into his head and began to evolve into an absolute gem of an idea. It was perfect. If he really wanted to gain an edge, he’d simply have to manipulate his devoted fanbase’s desire for any semblance of drama or rumours.</p><p>Biting his lip, Kurt retrieved his camera and set up his bluetooth speakers before searching for a karaoke version of what had to be one of the hardest songs imaginable to perform, especially by a male vocalist. Turning back to the camera, he gently patted down his hair and proceeded to press the little record button, gazing meaningfully into the lens.</p><p>“Hello everyone. Today I’ll be performing a song for... a special someone in my life. He knows who he is”. As he finished, he stared intently at the camera and pressed play on the instrumental backing to “I Have Nothing” by the one and only Whitney Houston.</p><p>Kurt poured his heart and soul into the lyrics, pretending to serenade the man of his dreams. There was, of course, no “special someone”. But his followers would probably freak out and replay the video over and over again to seek out any clue as to who it might be and that was really all he needed for a chance at going viral. Concluding with a hand on his heart, Kurt ended the shot and wore a pleased smiled as he made a few adjustments and uploaded it with the title, “For you, my love”.</p><p>Perhaps he’d gone a bit overboard at this point but he had to do what he had to do. Just as he expected, the comment section blew up with caps-lock screaming and questions of “WHO?” and “SINCE WHEN?”. Kurt waited patiently for some kind of reply from Blaine, whether it be a replica cover maybe with a rock twist, or a snarky comment followed by his annoyingly incessant usage of “;)”. He knew Blaine was always online at this time as he’d often posted on Saturday mornings, hair messy and smile way too infectious for the early hours. But nothing came.</p><p>Feeling gratified at rendering the other man helpless, Kurt milled about the house doing a couple of chores and sitting down to watch an episode of ANTM he had recorded. Come lunchtime, he was thoroughly expecting to be met with a notification alerting him of a new video from @BlaineDandy. But strangely, the other man had made no reply at all.</p><p>Maybe he had simply been too good to top. No, that couldn’t be it. The cover was okay, but certainly not his best. Blaine could easily arrange something to fit his range. And yet, his account remained unchanged. Perhaps he was simply busy? That was probably it. It would only be a few more hours and he’d post or comment something as a rebuttal.</p><p>But come tomorrow morning, his notification bar remained empty. Frustratingly, he couldn’t even feel elated at the fact his latest clip had racked up views in the hundreds of thousands as he was too focused and confused as to why Blaine had stopped their little competitive run. He didn’t even know why he cared so much. Anderson was insufferable most of the time, devilishly cheeky and with a good nature that never seemed to falter despite all Kurt’s attempts at destroying him in lyrical battle. It was certainly unlike him to step down from a fight.</p><p>Kurt chewed on his lip, deep in thought. Unable to make any conclusions, he decided to leave it for now and wait however long it took for Blaine to post a video. But he still couldn’t help but feel like something had gone wrong as he scrolled distractedly through the ever flowing stream of new comments populating his latest video.</p>
<hr/><p>It took an entire week for @BlaineDandy’s account to come alive again. Kurt forgot he had his notifications on and almost jumped out of his skin when his phone suddenly vibrated on his bedside table. As he peered over and saw the name, he quickly shuffled to load up his laptop and open the new video.</p><p>He was confronted by a Blaine who certainly looked like he’d seen better days. He was sitting at the piano, but his normally voluminous hair drooped sadly at his sides and his usual cheerful countenance had been replaced by a small smile and sad eyes. Breathing deeply, Blaine gave a small wave and said, “Hey guys. Sorry for the wait. I haven’t really had the passion to make a new video for a while but I’m back now and I promise I won’t leave for so long again.”</p><p>He gave a small shrug before resting his fingers on the keys and adding, “I’m going to be recreating my most liked video today. I hope you enjoy.” With that, he eased into a slow, emotional version of “Teenage Dream”, his voice breaking every so often as he put his everything into the performance. Kurt simply watched, transfixed in an almost uncomfortable way. This... wasn’t Blaine. Blaine made upbeat, weirdly arranged boppy covers of even the saddest songs, and yet here he was, performing a pop song turned ballad with more emotion than Kurt had even pretended to muster.</p><p>It was his full intention to make the same video as Blaine after watching the performance, but as he sat and watched, he got the sense that doing so would somehow be inherently inappropriate. As Blaine signed off with a small wave, Kurt slowly scrolled down to the comments which were already filled with his fans expressing their concerns and apologies. Clearly he wasn’t the only one who’d noticed something was off.</p><p>And so, he decided not to retort. It hadn’t been said, but Kurt had some kind of gut feeling that their back and forth rapport had ended. The time had come for them to both go back to producing their own content, and although he’d essentially “won” the competition, Kurt couldn’t help but feel oddly sad at the notion they’d no longer be continuing their infamous vocal battles.</p><p>
  <strong>4 months later</strong>
</p><p>Kurt was positively thrilled when his VidCon invitation came in the mail. To be invited to such a prestigious event whilst only having joined the site recently was an honour which could not be undertaken lightly. In the weeks leading up to he was planning outfits, preparing songs, practicing his autograph and even made an attempt at learning the guitar for potential accompaniment in performances (he stopped after two sessions).</p><p>With two days to go, he excitedly boarded his pre-booked plane and as it touched down in Los Angeles his heart leap in excitement. This would be the first time he’d get to meet the faces behind all the views and likes and comments on his videos, not to mention it could be an opportunity to organise some potential future collaborations with other cover artists.</p><p>After a rather luxurious night at the fully paid for accomodation, Kurt arrived at the VidCon venue feeling rejuvenated and ready to mingle and perform. His slot was at 10am and with almost an hour free he decided to venture out and check out what there was to offer. As he walked through the maze of booths and makeshift walls, he marvelled in awe at the sheer amount of work which had clearly gone into the event.</p><p>There were Q&amp;As being done with faces he’d seen all over Youtube, workshops being held for future influencers and panels hosted by some of his favourite content creators. He couldn’t believe that he, Kurt Hummel, had a place amongst it all. Feeling rather chuffed with himself, he sidled up to a small coffee van parked inside and ordered a nice, strong beverage that could get him through the day.</p><p>With warm drink in hand, Kurt plopped himself down on the floor and took a quick selfie with his drink, posting it Twitter with the hashtag #VidCon2020. As he scrolled casually through his feed mainly populated with fellow Youtubers also at the event, he thought he heard a vaguely familiar laugh sounding from around the corner.</p><p>Curious as to who it belonged to, Kurt stuck his head around the wall and immediately his eyes settled on dark brown hair curled fluffily atop the head of the human embodiment of a labrador. It was none other than Blaine previous arch-rival Anderson talking with someone who may have been famous or not. Kurt was hit with an almost star-struck sensation as he viewed, for the first time, the boy in the flesh.</p><p>The first thing that popped into his mind was the overwhelming urge to go over and make some snarky remark about the history between them and his penultimate victory at the end. But something was holding him back. He couldn’t exactly say the competition had ended on cordial terms, and despite having focused on themselves for the last 4 months, Kurt couldn’t help but feel that there was definitely some still unresolved tension between the pair. Just as he made the decision to ignore Anderson and pretend like he’d never seen him, he became suddenly aware of honey-coloured eyes meeting his own.</p><p>Frozen, Kurt just stared unblinkingly as Blaine’s face contorted into an expression that seemed to encompass his similar reluctance of not wanting to converse. But eventually it reached a point where the mutual eye contact had gone on for too long simply to not do anything about it. And so, reluctantly making the first move, Kurt left his coffee on the floor and stood up, advancing towards Blaine with an awkward gait.</p><p>A million snide comments and boastful proclamations of championship raced through his mind but none seemed to work with the situation he currently found himself in. Opting to play on nice terms instead, he simply stated, “Funny seeing you here.”</p><p>Blaine chuckled weakly, hands manoeuvring into his pockets as he shrugged. “Well considering the circumstances, I’d say it’s not so unusual, don’t you think?”</p><p>Kurt nodded thoughtfully. “I guess not.”</p><p>A suffocating silence enveloped them as they both shifted from foot to foot, neither one knowing what to say, Supposing it would have to be addressed at some point, Kurt broke the tension by prompting, “Soooo, we kind of have a bit of history between us, huh?”</p><p>Blaine’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I guess you could say that.”</p><p>God, Kurt was really trying with this conversation but Blaine was giving him absolutely nothing to work with. Exhaling exasperatedly, he questioned him once more with, “So why did you start to invoke copyright infringements on a bunch of my covers?”</p><p>If he wasn’t mistaken, the tips of Blaine’s ears turned red as he appeared almost embarrassed by the question. But just as quickly, his face took on a neutral expression once more before adopting a cheeky smile as he said, “Hmm, I just thought it’d be funny, you know?”</p><p>Kurt stared at him coldly. “Yeah, hilarious.” Of course, he wasn’t going to say that it actually had been a bit of a hoot while it had lasted. No, Blaine and his shit-eating grin did not need to know that. With a quick glance at his watch, Kurt was almost relieved to see he only had 5 minutes before his meet and greet. Thankful for the easy segway into parting, he told Blaine, “I gotta go. My slot starts in 5. So yeah, bye.”</p><p>Blaine raised his hand in farewell and as Kurt began to walk away, he noticed how the other man stared almost longingly after him as he went. Kurt rolled his eyes incredulously. If Blaine had wanted to talk to him longer then maybe he should’ve brought more to the conversation table. But it wasn’t his problem now, so he left it as such.</p><p>The meet and greet seemed to sail by as hundreds of unfamiliar faces met him, took their photo and left looking like they’d just won the lottery. It was certainly an unusual experience, but Kurt found himself slowly getting the hang of it and tried to be as amiable and presentable as he could. Not long after the fanfare had finished, he was called up for his performance slot at a nearby stage which was definitely bigger than anything he’d performed on before.</p><p>As he peeked out from behind the wings he felt momentarily stunned as he viewed the sea of people packing in to watch the brightly lit stage come to life. Thank god he was only doing two songs because that audience looked mighty big. Shaking away any last-minute jitters, Kurt ran on stage with microphone in hand and an exhilarated smile. A deafening cheer erupted throughout as he took a seat on a stool situated in the center.</p><p>“Hey guys. I don’t know how many of you know me but today I’ll just be performing a couple of my most viewed videos. Please enjoy.”</p><p>The first song he sang was one from his early days and the first cover of his which had really blown up; “Being Alive” by Stephen Sondheim. It was an easy enough song and he began to breeze through it. As he scanned the audience’s rapt faces, he took a double-take as he saw Blaine standing near the back, almost half-hidden in shadow. He guessed it made sense that he’d come to scout out the competition. But Blaine didn’t look at all vindictive or smirky like he thought he would.</p><p>No. He was gazing at the stage, at Kurt, with the same forlorn look he’d worn only a couple of hours earlier. Kurt found his eyes never straying far from the curly hair until he finished the song to delighted cheers and whoops. A strange feeling settled in his stomach as he forced himself to stare back at the crowd and smile widely.</p><p>As the noise subdued, he signalled to the piano player on stage and dove into his next and final song of the night. It really shouldn’t have been a surprise that he’d perform “I Have Nothing”, but the minute the familiar opening began the crowd began to hum with activity, probably discussing who the imaginary “lucky person” was.</p><p>As he eased into the chorus, Kurt dared himself to look at Blaine again and was met not by his warm smile but by his retreating figure heading back towards the exit. Frowning slightly, he sang the rest of the song pre-occupiedly but well, nonetheless, and hi-fived a few of the barricade fans before returning side stage to a pleased staff and crew.</p><p>“Great Kurt. Just leave your mic on the table over there and you’re done for today.”</p><p>After removing his gear, Kurt collected his jacket and walked hastily down the stairs, feeling exhausted from the long day and eager to indulge in the all-paid-for luxuries awaiting him back at the hotel. But as he hurtled around the corner, he found his legs suddenly flip out from underneath him as he walked right into a figure sitting on the floor.</p><p>“Oh my god, oh my god I’m so sorry! I wasn’t looking, shit I’m so sorry I’m- Blaine?”</p><p>Blaine’s handsome face hovered next to him as he offered Kurt a warm hand which he graciously used to heave himself up. The former didn’t appear injured, as far as he could see, so Kurt deemed it unnecessary to draw out an extended apology. He was prepared to get back up, offer a curt goodbye and make a quick getaway back to the plush cushiony hotel bed, but something in the way Blaine stared sadly at his feet stopped him in his tracks.</p><p>He couldn’t just leave him there sitting like a sad sap. He could be a little cold and impersonal at times, but he wasn’t THAT cruel. Wanting nothing more to leave, he resisted the urge and instead offered a mildly sympathetic, “Are you... okay?”</p><p>Blaine seemed to consider the question thoroughly before chuckling slightly and turning his shining, hazel eyes on Kurt. “Seeing as we live on opposite sides of the continent and we’re probably never going to see each other again, I may as well confess something.”</p><p>With a heavy swallow, he stared meekly at his hands and went on, “You know what I said... earlier. About why I started the whole “anything you can do I can do better” thing? Well, it’s not exactly true.”</p><p>Kurt cocked his head, suddenly intrigued by the unconventional turn this conversation had taken. “Go on.”</p><p>Blaine sighed dejectedly before looking up and meeting Kurt’s eyes. “I didn’t do it to spite you. I did it because I wanted you to notice me.”</p><p>Kurt blinked uncomprehendingly. Notice him? God, he’d have given anything not to have seen that face constantly in his notifications 4 months ago. A little irritably, he replied, “In what way?”</p><p>Blaine threw his head back in earnest before righting and looking like he was seriously reconsidering having this talk. Dropping his face into his hands, he murmured something Kurt didn’t quite pick up.</p><p>“Pardon?”</p><p>Groaning, Blaine glanced at him with a painful expression and simply said, “In a ‘I thought you were cute and kind of wanted to get to know you way’”?</p><p>Huh. Well, that was new information. Kurt stared blankly ahead as he wrapped his head around the fact that BLAINE of all people had a CRUSH on him. It was strange to consider, but despite how much he wanted to, he really couldn’t feel repulsed by the idea, in fact, much to the contrary. It was actually rather endearing, and the thought made his stomach clench unusually tight. Wanting to make sure he was definitely reading the situation right, Kurt questioned, “So let me get this straight. You flirted with me by copying my covers and trying to prove you were better?”</p><p>“Yep. Pretty much”, Blaine confessed. “But I swear, when you posted that video to your boyfriend I purposefully stopped because I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything. That’s why I ended our... thing.”</p><p>Kurt looked at him quizzically for a second before realisation set in. The video he’d made to get attention, Blaine had thought it was real? Suddenly he felt awful. Awful at having faked it because of his stupid competitiveness, awful at the feeling he may have led Blaine on and then hurt him. Hold on, what was he thinking? There was a time where he’d have given anything to make Blaine feel bad. But right now, all he could feel was an uncomfortable sense of guilt pooling in his stomach.</p><p>Not really thinking and tripping over his words, he rushed to get out, “Oh no, no Blaine that wasn’t. It wasn’t. I made him up. It’s just, I felt like I was really falling behind and I was kind of desperate, let’s say, to gain an edge so I, uh, made it up.”</p><p>The words sounded incredibly stupid coming out of his mouth and at that moment he would’ve given anything to go back in time and never have made that video. Blaine’s mouth hung open in a ‘o’ shape before he collected himself and cleared his throat slightly, saying a little awkwardly, “So, there’s no boyfriend.”</p><p>“Nope. Never was.”</p><p>A heavy silence settled over them with the unspoken question lingering in the air before. Kurt secretly hoped Blaine would speak it into existence. A few moments later, he did.</p><p>“So, I kind of have a chance now?”</p><p>Kurt cocked his head with a slight smile. Although he was a little insufferable at times, Blaine was also strikingly handsome, and way too nice for his own good, and good-natured in a way that would be beneficial for him. Not to mention he was certainly talented enough to keep up with himself. If he ignored the whole rivalry business, Blaine would actually be his ideal type, and as that realisation sank in and he stared thoughtfully into the nervous, honey-coloured eyes of the other man, his heart fluttered ever so slightly and the answer bloomed obvious in his mind.</p><p>“You know what, I think you might.”</p><p>Blaine’s eyes lit up for a moment before he drew back suddenly and said, “Is that a yes? Like yes, right now. Or a yes later? Or-“</p><p>Kurt chuckled. “Yes. It’s a yes, Blaine. Although you do realise it’s going to be super weird to start with. But yes, you have my permission to take me out.”</p><p>Blaine’s face lit up with a wide grin as he clasped his hands together. “Great! So like, when?”</p><p>Kurt’s eyes widened as he raised his hands slightly. “Woah woah woah, let’s not go too fast. I’m still wrapping my head around the fact that you of all people asked me out.”</p><p>The man before him smiled coyly. “You did say yes though.”</p><p>Kurt rolled his eyes. In a matter of moments their dynamic had entirely shifted in a friendly direction, heavily tinted with a playful flirtiness. “Hmm I did didn’t I.”</p><p>Blaine toyed with his bottom lip between his teeth, inconspicuously looking atKurt’s own mouth. Kurt noticed the rather obvious shift of gaze and playfully hit his knee. “Hey! There are things we need to talk about. Like the fact that you live in California and I live in New York.”</p><p>He was suprised when Blaine smile grew suddenly. “I’m actually moving to New York next month! My brother wants me to move out from his place and I’ve already purchased a loft so...”</p><p>So apparently things could work out between them. Kurt sighed loudly before standing and offering a hand down to Blaine which he took in a firm grip before standing up (perhaps holding on for a little longer than necessary). Blaine’s eyes shined as he stared at Kurt with a smile tugging at his cheeks. Raising a hand to rub behind his neck, he said jokingly, “So, now what do you want to do?”</p><p>Kurt hummed in thought. “Honestly? Go back to my hotel and have a long nap.”</p><p>Blaine’s face fell slightly before Kurt continued. “But I suppose you can take me out for dinner if you want.”</p><p>The smile came back in full force as Blaine nodded eagerly. “Absolutely. It’s on me”, he said with a wink. Kurt rolled his eyes jokingly as the pair found themselves walking at an awkward distance from each other to the car park. With a bright blush on his face, Blaine shyly snuck a hand between Kurt’s own, and the latter blinked surprisingly before interlinking his own fingers.</p><p>As the pair made their ways back to their respective cars with plans to meet back at a nearby restaurant, Kurt felt his heart warm and a perpetual smile grace his face as he began to drive. The last thing he would ever have expected doing this evening was going on a date with his former “arch-rival”, but the way he felt around him had certainly established a tension of a very different kind.</p><p>And after all, no one needed to know that after finishing their mediocre meals only salvaged by the riveting conversation, the two shared a heated kiss under the light of a street lamp. Or that Kurt never found out just how pleasurable the luxuries of his hotel were as he ended up spending an equally as pleasurable night with Blaine.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p>Flash forward 3 months and Kurt was sat once again in front of the camera, only this time he wasn’t alone, instead accompanied by his now boyfriend Blaine as they performed a joint cover to “Come What May”, much to the equal heartbreak and fangirling of the pair’s fandoms combined.</p><p>As soon as Kurt turned off the recording device, he immediately latched his lips onto Blaine’s neck who sighed in contentment. As kisses were placed up his boyfriend’s throat until he placed one final one on his lips, Kurt murmured, “I think we both won in the end.”</p>
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